Glenn Beck rejected by Current TV: Al Jazeera to buy channel

Jan. 13, 2012: Former U.S. Vice President and Current TV Chairman and co-founder Al Gore speaks during the panel for Current TV's "Politically Direct" at the Television Critics Association winter press tour in Pasadena, California. (Photo Fox News)

Glenn Beck rejected by Current TV: Al Jazeera to buy channel

Jan. 13, 2012: Former U.S. Vice President and Current TV Chairman and co-founder Al Gore speaks during the panel for Current TV's "Politically Direct" at the Television Critics Association winter press tour in Pasadena, California. (Photo Fox News)

“Before Al-Jazeera bought Current TV, TheBlaze looked into buying it but we were rejected by progressive owners.”

Gore netted $100 million with his 20 percent stake in the network when it was sold to the Qatar-funded Arab news channel Al-Jazeera for a reported $500 million Wednesday.

In a statement to The Wall Street Journal, a source familiar with the situation told the newspaper “Glenn Beck’s The Blaze approached Current about buying the channel last year, but was told that ‘the legacy of who the network goes to is important to us and we are sensitive to networks not aligned with our point of view.’”

According to a Fox News report, Al Jazeera plans to revive the seven-year-old, struggling Current TV and turn it into Al-Jazeera America by adding five to 10 new U.S. bureaus beyond the five it has now. More than half of its content will be U.S. news, and the network will have its headquarters in New York.

This expansion will make the show available in millions more American homes. However, immediately after the sale to Al-Jazeera became final, Time Warner Cable dropped the network saying this in a statement:

“Our agreement with Current has been terminated and we will no longer be carrying the service. We are removing the service as quickly as possible.”

Still, Gore sees a bright future for Al-Jazeera America, saying the networks were founded to “give voice to those who are not typically heard; to speak truth to power; to provide independent and diverse points of view; and to tell the stories that no one else is telling.”